Kitten Prices by Breed: What Breeders Charge
A pedigree kitten from a registered US breeder usually costs $800 to $3,000, with a handful of breeds running far higher. But the useful thing is not the number — it is knowing what moves it. Price is mostly driven by four things: how much health screening the parents have had, how hard the breed is to breed, how many kittens are in a typical litter, and whether the kitten is sold as a pet or as a show and breeding prospect. Once you can see those levers, a price either makes sense or it does not — and a pedigree kitten priced well below the market is the clearest warning sign there is. Work out the wider cost of the cat in the cat cost calculator.
What Do Pedigree Kittens Cost by Breed?
These are typical US prices for a pet-quality kitten from a registered breeder — neutering agreement, no breeding rights, registration papers included. Show or breeding prospects run two to four times higher.
| Breed | Typical US pet price | Why it sits there |
|---|---|---|
| Siamese | $600–$1,500 | Large litters, few breed-specific tests |
| Oriental Shorthair | $600–$1,500 | Shares Siamese lines and litter sizes |
| Burmese | $700–$1,800 | Moderate testing, healthy litter sizes |
| Russian Blue | $800–$2,000 | Small breeder pool in the US |
| Abyssinian | $900–$2,000 | PK deficiency and PRA testing standard |
| Norwegian Forest | $900–$2,000 | Slow growth, longer rearing time |
| Devon Rex | $1,000–$2,200 | Blood typing needed, smaller litters |
| Ragdoll | $1,000–$2,500 | HCM screening, high demand |
| Persian | $1,300–$3,000 | PKD testing, frequent cesareans |
| British Shorthair | $1,200–$3,000 | HCM and PKD testing, cesarean risk |
| Maine Coon | $1,200–$3,000 | HCM, SMA and hip screening |
| Siberian | $1,200–$2,800 | Small US breeder base, slow maturing |
| Exotic Shorthair | $1,200–$2,800 | Flat face, cesarean risk, small litters |
| Bengal | $1,500–$3,500 | PRA-b and PK testing, hybrid ancestry |
| Sphynx | $1,800–$4,000 | HCM screening, intensive kitten care |
| Savannah (F4–F5) | $1,500–$5,000 | Hybrid, restricted in some states |
Two notes on this table. First, region matters: coastal cities routinely sit at the top of each range and the Midwest at the bottom. Second, a breed you have never heard of is not automatically cheap — rarity pushes prices up, not down, and the highest-priced breeds are covered separately in the most expensive cat breeds.
Why Do Two Breeders Charge Different Prices for the Same Breed?
Because they are not selling the same thing, even when the kittens look identical.
Health screening on the parents. This is the biggest single legitimate cost, and it is invisible in a photo. A breeder scanning both parents for heart disease every year, running DNA panels and X-raying hips is spending hundreds to over a thousand dollars per cat before a kitten exists.
How hard the breed is to breed. Some breeds need surgical births regularly. Some have litters of two rather than five. Some queens are difficult to get pregnant at all. Every one of those raises the cost per kitten.
How long the kittens stay. Pedigree kittens should not leave before 12 to 14 weeks, not the 8 weeks common for mixed-breed cats. Those extra six weeks are food, litter, vaccinations and time.
Whether it is a hobby or a volume operation. A breeder with two queens raising kittens underfoot in the kitchen has a higher cost per kitten than someone running a dozen cats in outdoor pens. The cheaper kitten is often cheaper for reasons you would not like.
Reputation and waiting lists. A breeder whose cats do well in the show ring, or whose lines have a long healthy track record, can charge more and will still have a queue.
What Does Health Testing Cost, and Which Tests Matter?
Health testing is where the money in a well-bred kitten actually goes, so it is worth knowing what it involves.
Heart scans (echocardiograms) for HCM. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common heart disease in cats and the main screening target in Maine Coons, Ragdolls, Sphynx, British Shorthairs and Bengals. It costs roughly $300–$600 per cat per scan with a veterinary cardiologist, and because a cat can develop it later in life, responsible breeders repeat the scan annually or every other year while the cat is breeding. A one-off DNA test is not the same thing — the known Maine Coon and Ragdoll gene variants explain only part of the disease.
PKD DNA testing. Polycystic kidney disease, screened in Persians, Exotics and British Shorthairs. A one-off DNA test, roughly $50–$100, and once both parents are clear the kittens are clear.
PRA and PK deficiency DNA tests. Progressive retinal atrophy and pyruvate kinase deficiency, relevant in Bengals, Abyssinians, Somalis and a few others. Also one-off DNA tests.
Hip X-rays. Mainly Maine Coons, for hip dysplasia. Sedation plus radiographs, typically $250–$500.
Blood typing. Important in British Shorthairs, Devon Rex, Ragdolls and Birmans, because a type B queen mated to a type A tom can produce kittens that are poisoned by their own mother's first milk. Cheap to test, catastrophic to skip.
FeLV and FIV testing. Basic, and every breeding cat should have it.
Add it up and a breeder can easily spend $1,000–$2,000 a year per breeding cat on screening alone. That is the difference you are paying for.
Pet Quality or Show Quality — What Are You Paying For?
Almost every pedigree litter is split into pet and show prices, and the distinction confuses buyers more than any other part of this.
Show quality means the kitten matches the written breed standard closely — head shape, ear set, coat pattern, eye color, tail length, body type. It is a judgement about appearance against a document, and it is made at eight to twelve weeks by someone who may still be wrong.
Pet quality means something about the kitten is off-standard. A white toe in the wrong place. Ears slightly too far apart. A slightly short tail. None of it affects health, temperament or lifespan.
So the honest translation is this: pet quality means the same kitten from the same parents with a cosmetic flaw you will never notice. If you want a cat rather than a competitor, buy pet quality and enjoy the saving, which is typically 40–60% of the show price.
Two things usually come attached to a pet-quality price. First, a neutering agreement — the kitten is sold on the condition it is neutered, sometimes with papers withheld until you send proof. Second, no breeding rights. Both are normal and both are signs of a breeder who cares where the line goes.
Why Is a Cheap Pedigree Kitten a Warning Sign?
This is the single most useful sentence on this page: an unusually cheap pedigree kitten is not a bargain, it is information.
Work backwards. A Maine Coon breeder who has scanned both parents' hearts, X-rayed hips, kept the kittens to thirteen weeks, vaccinated them twice, microchipped them and registered the litter has spent a substantial amount before selling anything. Nobody does all that and then sells at half the going rate.
So a kitten priced far below the market usually means one of a small number of things. No health testing was done. The parents are not the cats you were shown. The papers do not exist, or they are from an invented registry. The kitten is younger than stated and was taken from its mother too early. It came from a high-volume operation abroad and was shipped in. Or the kitten does not exist at all and you are being scammed — the patterns are set out in how to avoid a kitten scam.
There is one honest exception. Occasionally a good breeder will place an older kitten, a retired queen or a cat returned by a buyer at a much lower price. That comes with a full explanation, full paperwork, and a breeder happy to show you everything. Cheap plus evasive is the combination to walk away from.
What Should Be Included in the Price?
Ask for this list before you pay a deposit, and compare breeders on it rather than on price alone.
- Registration papers from a recognized registry — in the US that is usually TICA or CFA. Pedigree certificate showing at least three generations.
- Vaccination record, normally two doses of the core FVRCP vaccine by 12–14 weeks, with dates and batch numbers.
- Microchip, fitted and ready to transfer into your name.
- Worming record with dates and products used.
- Copies of the parents' health test results, in the parents' names, not a general claim that the line is healthy.
- A written contract covering health guarantees, the neutering agreement and what happens if you cannot keep the cat.
- A return-to-breeder clause. Good breeders want their cats back rather than rehomed by strangers. It is one of the strongest quality signals there is.
- Often four or five weeks of starter insurance and a bag of the food the kitten is already eating.
What is usually not included: neutering, because pedigree kittens typically leave before neutering age, and rabies vaccination in states that require it. Budget those separately.
What Does a Pedigree Kitten Cost After You Get It Home?
The purchase price is one payment. The cat is a fifteen-to-twenty-year commitment, and some pedigrees cost more to run than a mixed-breed cat.
Neutering: $50–$500, depending on region and whether you use a low-cost clinic or a private practice.
Insurance: often more by breed. Insurers price by breed because claim histories differ, and breeds with known heart, kidney or breathing risks cost noticeably more to cover. The pattern is broken down in cat insurance cost by breed.
Grooming. Persians and other flat-faced longhairs need daily brushing and periodic professional grooming; neglect it and you are paying for a sedated de-matting instead.
Breed-linked veterinary risks. Flat-faced breeds can need surgery for narrowed nostrils. Sphynx need regular bathing and are prone to heart disease. Scottish Folds carry a cartilage mutation linked to painful arthritis, which is why several registries will not register them at all — that one is worth researching properly before you buy.
If cost across the whole life is what you care about, an adopted mixed-breed cat is dramatically cheaper at both ends. The comparison is in what it costs to adopt a cat.
How Do Deposits and Waiting Lists Work?
Good breeders have queues, and the queue is part of what tells you they are good.
Expect to wait. Six to eighteen months is normal for a well-regarded breeder in a popular breed. A litter is usually spoken for before the kittens open their eyes.
Deposits are normal, the size is the tell. A deposit of a few hundred dollars against a $2,000 kitten is standard. A demand for the full amount up front, or for payment by wire transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency, is not.
Choosing happens later. Most breeders will not let you pick a specific kitten at birth, because temperament and quality are not clear yet, and because they place kittens in homes that suit them. That is a good sign, not an inconvenience.
Visits. A breeder who welcomes a visit, or at minimum a live video call showing the kittens with their mother, is behaving normally. One who refuses both and offers to meet you at a parking lot is not.
Use the wait. It is the time to read up on the breed, get the questions ready — the full list is in questions to ask before you take a cat home — and set up the house properly rather than in a panic on collection day.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a pedigree kitten cost in the US?
Most pet-quality pedigree kittens from registered US breeders cost $800–$3,000. Siamese and Burmese sit at the lower end, Sphynx, Bengals and Maine Coons at the upper end, and show or breeding-quality kittens typically cost two to four times the pet price.
Which cat breed is the cheapest to buy?
Among pedigrees, Siamese, Oriental Shorthairs and Burmese are usually cheapest at roughly $600–$1,800, because they have large litters and few breed-specific health tests. A non-pedigree cat from a shelter costs far less again, typically $25–$250 including neutering and vaccinations.
Why are some pedigree kittens so cheap?
Usually because something normal was skipped: parental health screening, registration papers, the full vaccination course, or keeping the kittens to 12–14 weeks. Very low prices also feature in online kitten scams. A price far below the market for that breed is a reason to ask more questions, not fewer.
What does pet quality mean in a kitten advert?
It means the kitten does not match the show standard on a cosmetic point — coat marking, ear set, eye color or tail. It says nothing about health, temperament or lifespan, and pet-quality kittens usually cost 40–60% less than show-quality littermates.
Do breeders include neutering in the price?
Rarely. Pedigree kittens usually go home at 12–14 weeks, before typical neutering age, so most breeders sell on a neutering contract instead and some withhold registration papers until you send proof. Budget $50–$500 for the surgery separately.
How long is the wait for a pedigree kitten?
Six to eighteen months is normal with a well-regarded breeder in a popular breed, and litters are often reserved before the kittens are born. Immediate availability combined with a low price is the most common pattern in kitten sale scams.
Prices vary because breeding varies. A kitten from parents with annual heart scans, clear DNA panels and a proper registration trail costs more than one from a cat that was simply mated, and that difference is the point rather than a mark-up. Read the price as a signal: work out what the breed needs in testing, ask to see those results in the parents' names, expect a wait, and treat anything conspicuously cheap as a question rather than a saving. If it is a specific breed you have your heart set on, what a Maine Coon costs shows how the same factors play out in one breed in detail.
